Daily Record Financial News &
Monday, April 4, 2016
Vol. 103, No. 101 • Two Sections
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Help is on the way for circuit
Working on backlog of post-conviction motions
Jacksonville Suns owner Ken Babby will celebrate his first Opening Day as head of the team Thursday. He’s already made improvements to the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville for his first year, which promises to be a busy one.
Photo by David Chapman
By Max Marbut Staff Writer
Creating a new experience
New Jacksonville Suns owner ready for first season The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville was flooded Tuesday in a sea of orange and blue and garnet and gold. Warmer weather. Springtime. Baseball season had arrived in Jacksonville. More than 9,000 fans of the Gators and Seminoles watched as guests of Ken Babby. The Jacksonville Suns owner spent the evening walking the grounds, meeting guests, ensuring everything was going as well as possible in what served as a trial run for his inaugural Suns season that starts Thursday. “It’s a lot of people,” he said smiling, wearing neutral colors. Gray slacks, a tucked in black polo sporting a Suns logo. He’s standing in left field, just in front of the new Tiki Terrace filled with fans. The terrace is a Babby upgrade, part of $1.8 million he’s spent on renovations this off-season. “What do you think?” he asks a few of the onlookers leaning on one of the crowded rails. “It’s great,” one responds. Another fan gives him a thumbs up. Babby is always surveying the stands. He watches faces. What people are eating. How they’re interacting with each other and the game. It’s a trait that began when he was a Babby continued on Page A-10
Photo by Fran Ruchalski
By David Chapman Staff Writer
Staff attorneys for the 4th Judicial Circuit are going through the motions. That’s not meant in the sense they are doing something without believing in it. It refers to the backlog of about 1,300 post-conviction motions filed by inmates whose cases have completed the appeal process. Many of the motions must be disposed of within a 30-day deadline. The circuit’s in-house lawyers will be getting some help after City Council approved the transfer of $86,521 from the Court Innovations-Cash Carryover account to be used to hire contract attorneys. They’ll help reduce the backlog in the file room, which will allow the circuit’s full- and part-time staff attorneys to work on active capital and non-capital trials, county court appeals, civil matters and cases as directed by the 1st District Court of Appeal. The backlog of motions is years-old and more motions are filed almost every day. Cecelia Birk, director of judicial staff attorneys, said the file room was full when she joined the circuit in April 2012. This past June, staff started reviewing the collection to weed out motions already disposed of, motions filed by defendants who no longer were in custody and motions filed by defendants who have died. As of Oct. 1, there were 1,282 motions awaiting review and the stream hasn’t slowed. Sixty-one motions came in during February. They were prioritized by deadlines imposed by statute or by the appellate
Babby invested $1.8 million into the Baseball Grounds for upgrades like the Tiki Terrace in left field. The amenity was ready by last week’s University of Florida versus Florida State University baseball game and drew high praise.
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ParkerVision court loss sparks new legal strategy
ParkerVision Inc.’s five-yearold patent infringement case against Qualcomm Inc. ended last week when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the Jacksonville-based company’s appeal. However, CEO Jeff Parker doesn’t see it as a loss for the company, which has been developing wireless technology for use in mobile devices. During ParkerVision’s quarterly conference call with investors last week, Parker said he considers the case in U.S. District Court as an “investment” that led to a new legal strategy. “What we learned was that we
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need a means of enforcing our rights that is rapid, more predictable and that still provides what the District Court system has all but eliminated, which is the ability to exclude unauthorized users from importing infringing products into the United States,” he said. ParkerVision last year filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission against Qualcomm and three other companies, alleging they are illegally importing products into the U.S. using ParkerVision’s patented technology. Parker said that case is scheduled for trial in August,
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with a decision due in December. “Suffice it to say that the key milestones for an ITC action occur in a much faster time frame than a District Court patent case,” he said. Parker is hoping for a rapid decision because he firmly believes companies are using ParkerVision’s technology without permission.
ParkerVision last week reported minimal revenue of $10,780 and a net loss of $17.1 million for 2015, but Parker still expresses optimism. “While the past 18 months for ParkerVision have been a bit of a roller coaster ride, we certainly feel that we’re back on a business path that will result in generating a near term sustainable and exciting growth for ParkerVision and will return value to ParkerVision shareholders,” he said. The company also last week enacted a move that will enable it to keep its listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market, a 1-for-10 reverse
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stock split. The company’s stock has been trading well below Nasdaq’s $1 minimum price requirement and the reverse split, in which investors receive one share for every 10 they previously owned, raised the price of the stock from 28 cents at Tuesday’s close to $2.85 at the close of trading on Wednesday. In the conference call, Chief Financial Officer Cindy Poehlman said it was important to keep the Nasdaq listing. “ParkerVision’s management and board strongly believe that Basch continued on Page A-6
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